Display materials, such as commemorative plaques and awards, often comprise a metal plate mounted on a wooden base, and may be adapted to be hung on a wall or displayed on a desk or table. In some cases, the metal plate may be mounted on the base of a trophy or other award.
The use of such metal plates results in a distinctive, easy and “rich looking” award. The metal plate provides a smooth surface upon which the desired information may be readily displayed. One of its characteristics over other materials is that it acts as superior backdrop to almost any type of visual image as a result of its highly reflective surface. Furthermore, people prefer the effect of metal over paper due to the latter's actual and conveyed impressions of permanence and sturdiness. Metal gives to many users a feeling of superior quality. This is an accepted and popular means of commemorating or memorializing a special occasion or place, conveying important information, commending an individual or group of persons on some meritorious matter, or awarding someone for a laudable deed.
Such metal plates commonly contain written descriptive material which may simply be engraved or etched into the metal plate, resulting in only a one-colour display. In some cases, coloured lettering may be applied to such a metal plate by filling the engraved or etched letters with coloured ink or paint. It is also general practice, however, to apply coloured lettering by processes such as silk screening. Silk screening and other commonly used methods of applying coloured lettering requires the use of a separate printing step for each colour used, and requires careful alignment and registration of the screens required for printing.
Reproduction of photographs or other multi-colour artistic works on metal plates involves several printing steps, each using a single colour, and requires even more careful alignment and registration of each colour separation. Each such printing step requires the preparation of a separate screen or separation, which increases the cost and time involved in multi-colour printing processes. Consequently, multi-colour printing processes are generally used only when a large number of such plaques are being prepared.
Another popular means of commendation, information, commemoration, or award is the use of a substantial layer of a transparent material, most usually acrylic polymer or glass. A substantial piece of the transparent material is placed between the observer and the textual or graphic image. This is normally achieved by embedding the printed image within a block of the transparent material. The image would usually have a transparent background to the text or graphics, except for small regions to accentuate particular foreground colours. Both the block and the image background may be colour tinted. The block as a whole would then be adapted to be displayed under a variety of circumstances, e.g. hung on a wall, on a desk or shelf, or as part of an assemblage of displayed items
The human perception of an image through a transparent medium as described above is that of suspension of the characters or graphics of the image. The phenomena of internal reflection and refraction occur as governed by the optical characteristics of such a block: to an observer, a quick impression is that of suspension in a clear liquid with reflectance off the walls of the block. Taken in entirety, this is esthetically pleasing and makes the finished product attractive as a means for displaying such images.
In its solid form, acrylic is a physically sturdy and chemically inert material, capable of withstanding hostile environments and treatment without significant damage. Together with its clear optical characteristic, which makes it suitable as a medium for display purposes, acrylic is often used for purposes of commendation, award, information, or commemoration. Glass has also been used but its physical characteristics are less appealing since it is more difficult to work with and requires greater care and attention in handling.
Conventional means of producing embedded displays of textual or graphic images involve a number of steps. The acrylic polymer material is heated to a liquid state which is then poured into individual moulds. A carrier bearing the text or graphic image is added to and carefully positioned in the acrylic material while the latter remains in the workable molten state. The carrier must be of a chemical composition such as to withstand the corrosive characteristics of liquefied acrylic; it must also be of such physical characteristics to bear up under the associated heat and pressure. This restricts the spectrum of possible materials that can be utilized to carry the image. For example, present conventional photographic paper could not be used. Furthermore the means of imprinting the text or graphic on the carrier must be carefully chosen due to the same reasons. A wide variety of methods of imprinting the image would not survive the chemical bath. The process as a whole is complicated and expensive, especially where lesser quantities of such displays are produced.
One way of circumventing the above mentioned problems while retaining the characteristic of embedded images is to mount the printed image at the rear of the acrylic block. As a result, the observer sees the image through the clear acrylic material and its visual effect is comparable to that of the embedded approach. The laminated films may be trimmed to minimize any raised edges and give the assembly the appearance of a close approximation to uniform constitution. As a result, there is no need for the acrylic material to be reduced to a molten state while affixing the printed image thus avoiding the difficulties of heating and corrosion on the carrier. This further results in the possible use of a greater variety of image films.
The choice of the method of preparing the display must not substantially impair the overall transparent characteristic of the acrylic block as a means of display relative to the conventional embedding methodology. A silicone-based adhesive, while fulfilling the visual effect requirement, is difficult to work with requiring considerable sophistication, and has significant toxicity.
The present invention provides a method for preparing high quality plaques having the appearance and durability of metal plaques, but which can be prepared much more quickly and economically than conventional metal plates. Furthermore, the method of the present invention permits the preparation of even single plaques having several colours or bearing photographic or other artistic works at a fraction of the cost of preparing metal plates.
The same method may be utilized for the preparation of acrylic block displays with comparable visual impact and durability as that produced through conventional embedding methodology, but the process is quick, simple, and less expensive, especially where lower quantities of displays are involved. Furthermore, the class of possible carriers is larger since there is virtually no similar requirement for heat and corrosion resistance as in the case of conventional embedding methodology.